NEW ORLEANS, La - The owners of a New Orleans home said they have been asking the city for nearly a year to tear down the damaged building that is just a few feet away from a bedroom where children sleep.
Looking at the shotgun double was a startling sight. The side walls leaned outwards at an alarming angle, and they were just a few feet from the houses on either side. The owners know it will collapse at some point.
“Property damage, loss of life,” said Paul Bruno, property manager. “I mean, it's very stressful to know that at any moment that building could fall down and kill somebody.”
Bruno is property manager for the owners, and he said the house began to fail when there was a fire over a year ago that heavily damaged the rear and the interior. Then the roof collapsed, causing the sides to spread.
“I started to notice little bows in the walls, and then it started to get worse, progressively worse,” said Bruno. “Then in September of '09, I called the 311 number. I got an item number -- they said they were going to handle it. Nothing has happened since.”
The fire department placed a warning notice on the building 15 months ago, but Bruno worries about what could happen to the tenants and their children in the house next door when the structure collapses, especially if the roof joists smash through the house like spears.
“If the walls cave in, their beds where they sleep and the children sleep, is right against the windows,” said Bruno.
I'm contacting the mayor's office, and the city's director of code enforcement, asking them to take action as soon as possible to get this building demolished.
From a particular vantage point, you can really see just how dangerous the structure has become. The owners of the property next door can't believe the city hasn't taken action long before this.
“I'm not surprised, but I’m hopeful that they will,” said Bruno.
The head of city code enforcement said he would take a look at the structure right away. I'll let you know what happens.
